Dr Dawn Harper answers your whooping cough vaccine questions

The UK has been experiencing the largest outbreak of whooping cough for over a decade. The highly contagious bacterial infection puts infants most at risk of complications and even death as they’re too young to receive routine vaccination. Pregnant women between 28 to 38 weeks are therefore being encouraged to receive the jab; the only way to protect their baby from the day they're born.

GP and mother-of-three Dr Dawn Harper from Embarrassing Bodies joined us on Tuesday 5th February to answer your questions about whooping cough and the available jab. Here you can read her responses to your questions.

Baby Whooping Cough?

Hi, I have a 15 week old son. For the past week or so, he's been really fractious on an evening, and this has slowly progressed into the daytime. Wanting to be constantly fed, not put down etc. We just put it down to teething and the tail end of an ear infection. He has, however, since developed a cough. He's solely breastfed, but my doctors clinic wasn't offering the whooping vaccine when I was pregnant. At this age you get told lots of different things - he's grumpy so he's teething. He's teething so he's coughing/choking on the excess saliva that he's just not used to dealing with. Basically, I just wanted to know what the stages are of whooping cough. Can it start off as a seemingly innocent cough and progress? If so, what are the alarm bell signs that differentiate it from an ordinary cough and at what point should you make a doctors appointment to get it checked out? If it is diagnosed as whooping cough, how is it treated?

Overload in questions, but I don't know if I should be panicking just yet.

I am 26 weeks pregnant and have decided not to have the vacanation. I have read that there has not been much testing on this vacanation. Is this true? And have I made the right desition? Also how is whooping cough spread?

I'm a few weeks away from my 28th week in pregnancy and would like to take the vaccine. However I'm flying out of the UK on the day when I am 27week6days, can I take the vaccine on that day, i.e. 1 day before I turn 28 weeks? Is it safe to do so? Thank you.

DtaP starting at 6 weeks

Hi Dr Harper,

My little boy who is now 13 weeks, started his immunizations at 6 weeks because at 6 weeks he had bronchiolitis and the hospital advised he start immunizations early as I didn't get to have the shot during pregnancy. My question is, will the vaccines be affective if he started them so early? Secondly, I am aware that being fully immunized doesn't confer 100 % protection, but does this mean that if my baby contracts WC he will get a less severe version of the illness without complications?

Thanking you in advance,

Marie

04-02-13, 14:48#11

Nicola C(1351)

Needing advice

I was given the whooping cough vaccine at 20 weeks prior to my 20 week scan. Last week I was called in to see my GP who explained that I had been given it by mistake and that I needed to get the injection again, which I did. My question is why exactly are you not to get the jag before 20 week scan? What could it show in the scan? And was it safe for me to get a second dose within 15 weeks of the first? I'm just looking for a second opinion as my doctor said that the practice were taking this mistake seriously. I'm 35 weeks pregnant at the moment.

Advice wanted

Hi
I am 31 weeks pregnant and I am not having the vaccination as I have had awful problems with vaccinations in the past. I am so worried that when my baby is born it will catch it. I had a vaccination for it in 1980 and I will be breast feeding will this help to protect baby until 8 weeks. Then is baby fully protected at 8 weeks or not until it has had all vaccinations? There has been a wee epidemic of wc here even my mum has had it will this be less likely in April?

Risks

I've read that whooping cough in the UK is on the decline and that the instances of children that die from it are usually those with preconditions. On the other hand the vaccine contains aluminium and formaldehyde - substances that are normally restricted for children and have been found to cause a range of issues including autism.

Is the risk associated with having the vaccine worth it considering whooping cough is no longer prevalent?

30 weeks pregnant with twins

Hi
I am due to have the vaccination Tuesday evening, I have been putting it off as I wanted to be able to make an informed decision about the risks to the unborn babies... are there any? Also I have been told that the vaccination crosses the placenta, eg immunises the babies in the womb, is this correct or do I need to breast feed them once they are born to make sure they are immune?

Husband with whooping cough

I am currently 32 weeks pregnant and my husband has just been confirmed as having whooping cough. He has had it since New Year and was prescribed antibiotics after 2 weeks. I have read that as long as these are taken in the first three weeks of coughing it should prevent it being infectious.

I had quite a bad reaction to the vaccination as a child, fever, blotchy skin and rolling eyes. On reading my notes my doctor advised me not to have the booster jab in case I had a reaction again. This was before my husbands whooping cough was confirmed.

My worry is that no-one will clarify whether or not my husband could still be infectious, his cough is getting better but he is still coughing. I am worried that if it has not completely gone by the time the new baby arrives there might be a risk of passing it on to the baby, my last baby was born a month early so I am slightly concerned if this happens again whether he can be with me and hold the baby.

Any clarification on this would be greatly appreciated as I really don't know what to do, whether I should insist I have the vaccination as I doubt I would have another reaction.

I had the Whooping Cough Jab on Friday at 28 weeks pregnant. My Midwife and the nurse giving me the jab confirmed that it is a booster rather than the full vaccine. I was not given the vaccine as a baby but did contract Whooping Cough. Will my baby therefore get the full benefits considering I've not had the full vaccine just a booster? Neither my Midwife or the nurse were able to answer this.

Whopping cough questions

Hello

I have already been collating questions to ask my nurse but it's great to hear Dr Dawn Harper is doing a Q&A. I have put them all below but understand it's probably impractical to answer them all but any answers would be greatly appreciated:

Many thanks in advance.

- Is it safe for baby?

- What possible negative side effects are there to baby?

- Has it been going in America & France long enough for us to assess whether it can cause harmful side effects?

- Is it the same injection the baby will have at 8 weeks? If not how is it different and could it be harmful?

- Is it to protect baby when born or to prevent me from catching it whilst babies in womb or both?

hi i never recieved the jab when i was a child because my mum was on phenobarbitone when she was pregnant and it was considered dangerous to give me the jab because of that, im worried incase my 20 month old son gets whooping cough and passes it onto me and it affects my asthma is there anything i can do to prevent it happening